I am new to this board. I am actually pretty new to fertility treatment as well. My husband (30) and I (29) have been trying for 11 months. At seven months we went into the doctor and they started some basic tests. They found that I do not ovulate every month. I do ovulate but not every month. My husband has low sperm count and low motility. We went to our RE and after more tests they suggested that I take clomid and we do an IUI. I responded really well to the clomid and had a mature follicle. My husbands count was 25 million and 95% motility. We thought that was great... It didn't work. This past Sunday we went in for another IUI(same as before me on the clomid and good results from it). This time my husbands count was only 3 million and 60% motile. My RE likes to have 5 million for an IUI but they still did it. Is it normal to have the count change by so much month to month?

My doctor said if it did not work this time (we are not to positive) we will probably move onto clomid with injectables. Has anyone done this? I am just getting frustrated because I am taking all these drugs and we don't even know month to month if the count will be good enough. He as been tested a couple times and it has been 17,12,25, and 3million.

I am trying to stay positive but it is really hard. I know we are lucky because we got a little bit of a head start. At least we did not have to wait until a year of trying on our own before the doctor looked into things. Also my insurance covers everything 100%. IUI and IVF.

just wanted to say hello & good luck to the both of u.....your dh count does not sound that bad...my dh count is a lot worst than that....his count is only 500,000....& out of that 500,000 only 20% is normal 80% has abnormalities & it is not even in the millions....i just wanted u to know that i am the same age as u our & my dh is 32.....i have had in the past 6 iui & 2 ivf....i also ovulate on my own but not all the time....i have pcos & we may be doing ivf with ah & icsi around the end of oct....what i have learned for this site is that there our alot of people on here which give such good advice & support that other people may not give to us or just dont understand....so anyway hope u have a great day & i am sending u lots of baby dust....

Thanks for the reply! You guys have definetly been through a lot. When you did the IUI's did you do any of them with clomid and injectables? I just feel like I don't hear too many positive stories from IUI's. Does your husbands count usually stay around that same number? One thing I have learned through all of this is that we are not alone. I see that on this board and I realize that when I am at the doctors and their are patients coming in and out all the time.

I am not sure what an ah & icsi is? I am so new at all this and have been taking it one step at a time. I am sure it is something that will increase your odds!!

My short synopsis is I'm 30, dh 33, ttc 4 years, did 5 mths Clomid with IUI and 3 mths FSH injections with IUI... I was really pumped last month with our last round of FSH and IUI. Dh's counts were the best they've ever been! But still BFN... To make a long story short, yes dh #s can fluctuate hugely month to month. Besides the fact that he should abstain from intercourse the day/night before IUI, I asked the tech about the fluctuations and she says its just the way the body works. Best of luck with your next cycle and keep in touch! As for me, we meet with the doctor to discuss IVF next month.

Hi again Ert-
They started me out at 1 shot per day (I used the GonalF 900unit prefilled pen) and there's videos online that show you how to use the knob to adjust dosages. I think they started me at 75units but since my clinic requires bloodwork and ultrasound every other day (I'm not kidding) they call me with dosage changes and by my third cycle I was doing close to 200 units per day. Usually they wouldn't have me do the trigger shot until day 12-ish. But it all depends on how the follicles are growing. I used the Ovidrel 250 trigger which burned a little. And day and half later went in for IUI. I don't know if you've been through any previous cycles but one tip regarding the bloodwork is to switch off arms every other time they take blood. It probably sounds like common sense to some people but I have a really good vein in my right arm so I kept having them use that. And by the end of the cycle I looked like a junkie and my arm hurt really bad. You'd think the phlebotomist would've said to switch arms but the next cycle I asked and they were like "whoa, of course you should switch, you could damage that vein in the right arm if you keep taking blood day after day." Ok, that's it for now, let me know if you have any other questions. And best of luck!

Hi...I am currently doing medication with injectibles and IUIs. Will probably be moving on to IVF in the next couple of months if it doesn't work. My husbands sperm counts fluctuated quite a bit and did go down. The staff at the clinic weren't concerned and said that is normal and when we asked the specialist he said it probably has to do with my husbands decreased excitement of having to ejaculate in a cup. Otherwise they weren't too concerned. Hope that helps.